Process of manufacturing steel.



No. 744,032. PATENTED N0V. 17, 1903 I w. B. BRO-GKPIBLD. rnoosss OFMANUFACTURING STEEL.

APPLIGATIQN FILED JAN. 14, 1903.

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apparatus for carrying out my process.

- UNITED STATES:

Patented November 17, 1903.

PATENT OFFICE.

PROCESS OF MANUFACTURING STEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 744,032, dated November17, 1903. Application filed January 14, 1903- Serial No. 139,009. (Nospecimens.)

This invention has for its object a process of producing steel knowncommercially as crucible-steel which is particularly practical andcausesthe product to be especially uniform in hardness and character; and tothis end the invention consists in the manner of treatment hereinafterspecifically pointed out and claimed.

In describing this invention reference is had to the accompanyingdrawings, in which like, characters refer to corresponding parts in allthe views.

Figure 1 is a sectional view, partly in elevation, of the greaterportion of one form of- Figs.

7 2 and 3 are sectional views, respectively, of

one of the crucibles and a crucible-furnace forming part of saidapparatus.

Crucible-steel, and particularly self-hardening steel, is produced in aplurality of crucibles of relatively small capacity, for the reason thatit has not heretofore been possible to manufacture this steel in bulkowing to the mechanical difficulties experienced in forming the sameinto finished bars and plates. In the commercial manufacture of suchsteel the component ingredients are inserted into the respectivecrucibles and are subsequently fused, and the fused mixtures are castinto ingots which are rolled or otherwise manipulated for formingfinished bars or plates. Owing to the insertion of the ingredientscomposing the steel into a number of different crucibles of relativelysmall capacity there is obviously more or less variation in thecharactor of the steel produced from the mixtures fused in therespective crucibles. One of the ingredients inserted into the cruciblesfor forming steel in this manner is tungsten, and,

' as is obvious to those skilled in the art, the

tungsten raises the fusing-point of the mixtures, does not readily anduniformly unite with the iron, and unites to a greater or less extentwith the carbon of the crucibles or melting-pots, thus materiallylessening the lifetime of the crucibles.

By my invention crucible-steel, and particularly self-hardening steel,is produced in a novel manner, as follows: Iron, tungsten, and chromiumare melted together in bulk in a suitable furnace,as an open-hearthfurnace 1, Fig. 1, and are thus refined, mixed, and united to a maximumdegree. I usually first fuse the iron in the furnacel and then add thetungsten and chromium and subject the entire mass to heat in saidfurnace until the metals are thoroughly mixed together.- The iron,tungsten, and chromium mixture is reduced to a subdivided or fragmentarycondition in any desired manner. In the illustrated apparatus forcarrying out my process said mixture is conducted from the furnace 1through a trough 2 into a ladle 3 and while molten is dropped from saidladle into a body of water or other liquid in a receptacle 4, whereuponthecompound readily separates into substantially spherical bodies ofrelatively small size,'which are quickly cooled in the water, areuniform in hardness and character, and are easily handled and fused. Itwill be understood that the furnacel or the trough 2 is provided withsuitable means for controlling or preventing the flow of the moltenmetal from the furnace through the trough. Said broken-up or subdividediron, tungsten, and chromium compound is then filled into crucibles 5and fused in a cruciblefurnace 6 and when fused or melted is cast intoingots, which are subsequently rolled or otherwise manipulated forforming finished bars or plates.

a In following out this process I preferably use the iron, tungsten, andchromium in the fol-.

lowing proportions, by weight: iron, ninety-- four to sixty parts;tungsten, five to twentyfive parts; chromium, one to fifteen parts.

The length of time during which the iron, tungsten, and chromium areheated in the furnace may be from one to twelve hours, and the length oftime during which the fragmentary product is heated in the crucibles maybe from one to six hours.

To those skilled in the art it will be under stood that theproportions'of iron, tungsten, and chromium and the length of timeduring which the same are subjected to heat are dependent more or lessupon the grade of the materials and that a small amount of silicon,

usually less than two per cent., is present in the final product. Itwill also be understood that instead of iron a good grade of soft steelmay be nsed.,

It will be particularly noted that by producin g steel as described thematerials are refined by the fusing and heating in the openhearthfurnace and are thoroughly mixed, even though the steel is low incarbon, that the uniting of the iron with the tungsten and chromium inthe open-hearth furnace reduces to a minimum the liability of thecombination of the tungsten with the carbon of the crucibles and theresultant disintegration and destruction of the crucibles, and that theentire process greatly facilitates the production of afinished productof maximum uniformity in hardness and character and themanufacture offinished bars or plates which are free from defects, as seams, &c.

Having thus fully described my invention, what I claim as new, anddesire to secure by Letters Patent, is 1 1. The herein-described processof prod noing steel, the same consisting in fusing iron, tungsten, andchromium in bulk together, reducing the resultant product to asubdivided or fragmentary condition, and then fusing said reducedproduct in crucibles, substantially as and for the purpose described.

2. The herein-described process of producing steel, the same consistingin fusing from ninety-four to sixty parts by weight of iron with fromfive to twenty-five parts of tungsten and from one'to fifteen parts ofchromium, reducing the resultant product to a subdivided or fragmentarycondition, and then fusing said reduced product in crucibles, substantially as and for the purpose described.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto signed my name, in the presence oftwo attesting witnesses, at Syracuse, in the county of Onondaga, in theState of New York, this 10th day of January, 1903.

WILLIAM BERTIN BROOKFIELD. WVitnesses:

S. DAVIS, D. LAVINE.

